American Legend Aircraft CO AL3C accident near Waco, Texas, August 24, 2019
On August 24, 2019 at about 5:00 pm local time, a American Legend Aircraft CO AL3C, registered N173JE, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing (landing roll) near Waco, Texas (Wildcat Canyon airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The student pilot's failure to maintain directional control during the landing roll, which resulted in a runway excursion and noseover.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 24, 2019 · about 5:00 pm local time
- Place
- Waco, Texas · Wildcat Canyon · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- American Legend Aircraft CO AL3C 100 · all AL3Cs on the register
- Registration
- N173JE · registry record · serial AL-1025
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The flight instructor reported that the student pilot had touched down on his fourth landing of the training flight. During the landing roll, the student overcontrolled the rudder, and the airplane veered left, and he then overcorrected to the right. The instructor took the flight controls and applied left rudder and left brake, but the airplane exited the right side of the runway, sank into soft dirt, and nosed over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the rudder and left wing lift strut. The instructor reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
What happened, in order
- Loss of control on ground during landing
- Runway excursion during landing
- Nose over/nose down during landing (landing roll) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- cause Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Student/instructed pilot
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Directional control › Not attained/maintained
- cause Environmental issues › Physical environment › Runway/land/takeoff/taxi surface › Soft surface › Effect on operation
Flight instructor
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 1,059 hours in all; 684 in this make and model; 199 in the last 90 days; 74 in the last 30 days; 990 as pilot in command; 77 on instruments
- Last flight review: June 28, 2019
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rear
- Injury: no injuries
Dual student
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 9 hours in all; 9 in this make and model; 9 in the last 90 days; 5 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: None
- Seat: frt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 617 hours
- Last inspection: condition inspection, May 28, 2019
- Maximum gross weight: 1,320 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-200 (piston); 617 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 3T8 Waco TX at 4:55 pm
- Destination: 3T8 Waco TX
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 15, 2,450 ft by 60 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 200° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 3,200 ft
- Temperature: 86°F (30°C), dew point 73°F (23°C)
- Altimeter: 29.94 inHg
- Observation at 4:51 pm from KACT, 8 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flig | 2 |
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number GAA19CA510.